Issue #1 – Morality…

BethanySMC - Wednesday, 16 September 2015 11:45

Issue #1 – Morality…

I am profoundly saddened by the fact that one of my brothers has publicly denied the faith and turned his back to God, who once enlightened him, washed him and adopted him into God’s family. Each of us has our own testing time, and I’m not here to point fingers at anybody. My brother stated that his journey into delusion started about 10 month ago, with the problem of morality and that’s where I want to begin to address all of his questions one by one. But before I do, I would like to mention that the root of the problem is not the “problem of morality,” but the inability to discern the work of the devil, who skillfully approaches his prey to kill, steal and destroy.“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity {of devotion} to Christ.” 2Co.11:3.

Citing the story of Joseph and Mary – Satan approached him with a thought: How could Joseph be called “righteous” and “faithful to the law,” when he intended to deliberately disobey the law by letting Mary go quietly? This seems to be a logical question if indeed Mary got pregnant through an adulterous relationship with another man. If that would be the case, I highly doubt that, Joseph, who was faithful to the law would act as he did. The Bible doesn’t give us details how Joseph found out about Mary’s pregnancy, nor about the talk they had with one another. If I would be in Joseph’s shoes, I would definitely ask for an explanation. Mary’s testimony was not of a loose girl and her character would not suggest that she might be sleeping with someone. When God picked Mary, He picked the best girl – humble and without reproach. The explanation that Joseph received from Mary about the Angel’s appearance, proclamation about the child that will be born, and pregnancy from the Holy Spirit, probably left Joseph really puzzled. The Bible doesn’t give us details about their conversation or Joseph’s search for truth. If what Mary is saying is true, then this case would not fall into the category of adultery that requires punishment and to falsely accuse her publicly of adultery would be against the law also. Having knowledge of the scriptures, Joseph perhaps knew that this could possibly be the case: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isa.7:14” He just was not 100% convinced that he wanted to be a part of this story. That’s why God had to uniquely intervene and assure Joseph that what Mary was saying is really true.

Another fiery dart was aimed at the Old Testament Law to discredit the character of God. That’s the same way Satan got Eve in the Garden of Eden. I would summarize the attack by using questions: How could such a good, loving and forgiving God of the New Testament assign death penalty for certain sins in the Old Testament? If we would live in ancient times, would I be willing to serve this God? These questions also have an appearance of wisdom and have been successful weapons of devil for thousands of years.

Why would a loving God punish sinners by death? The devil tries hard to convince people that sin is not a really big issue worth of being punished or judged for; “you will not die” – he told the first people. “They should not have died,” he also says pointing to the Old Testament bloody scenes of judgement. From the very beginning, to emphasize the sinfulness of disobedience and of sin, God established a law. To break such laws, would be committing a capital crime offence. In the Old Testament, there are only a few crimes that by the law would be considered capital offence crimes. Nowhere in the law did God order people to be stoned for breaking the Sabbath. One time that it is recorded was an exception deeper than picking up sticks on the Sabbath. Sometimes, as a surgeon God has to reach to his scalpel to cut away cancer from the society that he dearly loves and wants to prosper. It is not that he enjoyed seeing people or animals die because of the sins of men; On the contrary, God had no delight in the death of sinners. In His mercy, God established rituals of sacrifices to cover some forms of sins until the ultimate sacrifice of His own Son, who died for all the sins of humanity. In fact, God’s attitude toward sin has not changed and is not altered by peer pressure or by the present culture understanding of good and evil. God reserved a day of judgment for those who would reject his mercy and sacrifice of His Son, for those who would be foolish enough to argue in his courtroom that their sins do not deserve punishment.

“ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and {if} He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing {them} to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly {lives} thereafter.. ..{then} the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in {its} corrupt desires and despise authority 2Pe.2:4-10.”

In our present world, if you disagree with the law of the land that people came up with, you are still required to submit to it or face the judge one day. In different cultures there are different laws that govern people and these laws are subject to change over a period of time. If we would join law school half a century earlier, we would argue differently about many things. Things that are not reasonable or criminal today would be easily justified in court years ago and the opposite is true. For modern people with present perspective it is virtually impossible to identify ourselves with laws, customs and lifestyle of people who lived 100 years before us, not even going back to 1000’s of years before us. The death penalty, even in our present era, is considered by many to be the sure way to cleanse evil from society. If I disagree with the Death Penalty, should I leave the country if the law of the land approves it?

Knowing God’s attitude toward sin, especially when his Son took the punishment on my behalf for my Capital Crime offence, it would be very foolish to walk away from such kindness. “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness Rom.11:22”

Next blow.. Are you sure what you read and believe the Word of God? Same old tactic.. We hear Devil is still whispering to people: “Indeed, has God said, ‘______________’?” Ge.3:1.

I plan to address the inspiration of the Word of God concern later when we get to it closer. For now I just want to allow myself to be surprised, and perhaps throw a question.. What kind of ancient Eastern texts is our former preacher/brother referring to, that reflect similar views about our world, human nature, and spirituality as we know it in the Bible?? I have studied Modern and Ancient World Religions in school and as far as I can tell, neither of them have anything even close to the worldviews presented in the Bible, nor do any of these ancient texts have any answers that are found in the Bible. False conclusions concerning the Word of God, is the product of the seeds of doubt that were once planted in the heart and generously watered with prejudice.

Well, we cannot “eat an elephant all at once”… Nor can I address all questions at once. But taking one bite at a time, by God’s grace we can cover all the issues and concerns of our former brother.

Are there any problems with miracles of the Bible?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 at 11:45 am and is filed under Questions Concerning Christian Faith.
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